Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor January 2014

The Morgan McKinley Irish Employment Monitor recorded a month-on-month increase of 57% in job availability in January 2014 compared to December 2013.

The number of professionals looking for new job opportunities increased 49% from December 2013 to January 2014 (5,658 to 8,430).

Compared to the same time last year, there was a 13% decrease in the number of professionals seeking new jobs (9,735 in January 2013 compared to 8,430 in January 2014).

The healthy state of the professional jobs market has been reflected in the January 2014 Morgan McKinley Employment Monitor which shows an increase of 10% in professional job vacancies in the first month of this year compared to January 2013 (10,666 compared to 9,730).

The Monitor also registered a 57% increase in the number of professional job opportunities in January 2014 compared with December 2013 (6,785) but, while positive, this large increase is attributable to the fact that December is typically a quieter month for job activity and candidate availability.

The number of professionals seeking new job opportunities increased by 49% from 5,658 in December 2013 to 8,430 in January 2013. The number of job seekers has declined by 13% from 9,735 in January 2013 to 8,430 for January 2014. The month on month upsurge in professionals seeking new job opportunities is a result of the seasonal differences in the market between December and January.

Karen O’Flaherty, chief operations officer at Morgan McKinley, commented, “Since the beginning of the year there are signs that employer confidence is returning. Employers are becoming increasingly aware of the competitive nature of sourcing talent and hiring criteria has softened across many industries.

“The ramp up within the HR sector is indicative that many organisations are shifting their focus to attraction, retention and engagement for the year ahead. Benchmarking and retaining talent is at the top of the list for many organisations and there is continued demand for compensation and benefits professionals. Also strong demand continues from multinationals seeking talent acquisition professionals to add to existing teams.

“Within the general financial services sector we’ve seen an overall increase in the flow of new positions. Specifically, in insurance highly sought after candidates include underwriting and claims professionals while in funds there remains a steady demand for fund accountants and transfer agents across all levels. Many roles which were previously hybrid in nature are now being divided due to increased volumes of workflow and the need for specialisation.

“The accounting market is experiencing an increased requirement for transactional level professionals including AP, AR, payroll and accounts assistant across multinationals, shared services and SME’s. Additionally Irish-owned companies are seeking candidates for their international operations as the world-wide market shows signs of improvement.

“Opportunities for IT contractors within the area of web and mobile technologies continue this year. Contractors who are in the position to start immediately are sought after as upcoming project deadlines within organisations require urgent talent acquisition. This has increased contractor rates and we expect to see this trend to continue over the coming months.

“Overall January shows an increased flow in new positions across a range of sectors and industries which we expect will be maintained through 2014. We have also seen the expected increase of candidates looking for new roles which can be explained as part of their & lsquo;New Year New Job’ promise and is reflective of the general positivity in the market.”